Cooking (Un)School(ed)

Wow!
It's been a while, eh?
Excuse me a moment while I virtually dust the digital cobwebs off this blog.
...
There.
So, o.k., I'm a less-than-disciplined blogger.
Sue me.
Or, better yet, read on and try out some of my bizarrely successful recent cooking events (bizarre only in the fact that they were so successful!):

A couple of weekends ago my sister, Julie, came over for a pizza-and-movie night.  Here's what we ate:

Fresh, Healthy, To-Die-For Pizzas
Ready-made pizza crusts
Fresh tomatoes, sliced generously and seeded
Balsamic Vinegar
Sliver-thin sliced sweet red onions - about 1/2 of a medium sized onion
Chopped green pepper - again, about 1/2 of a medium-sized pepper
Sliced baby portobella mushrooms - we had probably about 2Cups, maybe a little less
Fresh baby spinach - two extremely generous handsful
Extra virgin olive oil
Basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Asiago and Mozzarella cheeses

Preheat oven as directed for crusts (probably around 425 or so)
We started by caramelizing the sweet onion in a hot skillet with a very, very generous pouring of balsamic vinegar until they were deep, deep brown and had cooked down to half their original volume.  (Only my sister's presence stopped me from quitting right there and just calling those onions dinner!)
Into that hot skillet we then poured about a tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped green pepper and mushrooms.  (Stirred frequently!)  Just as everything was cooked down nicely we threw in the baby spinach to wilt and added basil and oregano - sadly, the dried kind as I had no fresh.  Drat! 
But we persevered, drizzling oil onto the baking sheets and even spreading a little on the bottom of the crusts.
Then we placed the sliced tomatoes (and trust me, seed them and get rid of the gelatinous goo) across the crusts to within about a half to an inch of the edges. (We had 1/2 of a 12" regular crust and one gluten-free crust which is significantly smaller than a regular one.)
The wonderful conglomeration of fabulousness was spooned onto the waiting tomato-crusts, then topped with plenty of shredded Asiago and Mozzarella cheese (read: a whole lotta cheese) and popped into the oven for about 13 minutes of intensely aromatic anticipation!
So.
Fabulous.
Well, truthfully, our tomatoes had retained a little too much gelatinous goo and slid around on the crusts, necessitating the use of forks.
But, still, lesson learned.  (Additional lesson:  make sure your garlic is fresh.  It could have added a luscious note to this pizza!)
This one is a keeper.

What else, you ask?
How about a last-minute lunch throw-together?

Let me start with the fact that I am a big fan of poaching several flash-frozen boneless chicken breasts at one time.  Then I eat chicken for several days.  But, poaching gives me the opportunity to go in very different directions with individual pieces...

Chicken Catch-a-Leftover

Layer in order:
One poached chicken breast, completely chilled, and shredded.
Cover with bar-b-que sauce (I like KC Masterpiece original)
One big handful of shredded cabbage mix ( I had Fresh Express brand 3-Color Deli Cole Slaw on hand - and use just the veggies, not actual slaw with dressing!)
Chopped pineapple - about a half-cup.

I know, I know. 
It sounds crazy.
But it was great. 
Spicy, tangy, crunchy.
Protein, fiber, and admittedly more sugar than I would have liked, but....
Tasted great.
Don't judge if you don't taste it!

And, finally:

It Worked! Cold Pasta Salad

Warning:  this is the result of leftovers and imagination:
I box rainbow rotini, cooked and cooled.
Chopped green pepper (I used the other half from the pizzas above)
Chopped onion to taste (I used considerably less than the 1/2 left over from the pizzas)
Chopped celery - about 5-6 ribs (yes, leftover from another dish)
1/2 a jar of Marzetti brand classic cole slaw dressing (obviously left over from the slaw mentioned above)
1/3 of a jar of Miracle Whip salad dressing
one heaping tablespoon dried dill
Mix together, chill at least overnight - seriously.
Now, again, don't judge if you don't taste.
The Miracle Whip cuts the slaw-tangy taste down to manageable and the dill is incredible.  The flavors of the onion and pepper obviously go well together, and the celery gives it crunch. 
Would I eat it every day?
Well, I live alone and I made the whole box of pasta, so I will for a couple days.
But that's o.k.
Because it really came out tasty.
And I could even throw in some plain shredded chicken breast for protein.

Done!